In this chapter from MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-667): Configuring Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010, you will learn the procedures and settings related to web applications, and you will master important concepts including Claims Based Authentication, access mappings, and zones.

Web applications are the top component of the logical hierarchy of
SharePoint content within a farm. All user access to SharePoint content is
performed within the context of a web application. Although content itself
is contained within site collections and stored in content databases, web
applications and their associated IIS Web sites manage important
functions, including authentication and SSL encryption. Web applications
also scope configuration, including important settings that enforce
consistent security across all site collections in the web application. In
this chapter, you will learn the procedures and settings related to web
applications, and you will master important concepts including Claims
Based Authentication, access mappings, and zones. In Lesson 1, you will
explore, in detail, the numerous settings that you can configure when you
create a web application. Lesson 2 is dedicated to managing
authentication. In Lesson 3, you will learn how to configure access to web
applications in more complex scenarios, in which users access web
applications via more than one URL.

Before You Begin

To complete the lessons in this chapter, you must have done the
following:

Performed the practices in Chapter 1.

REAL WORLD

Dan Holme

A web application is a SharePoint component that is closely
related to and dependent on—but separate from—an IIS Web site. Thrown
in the mix are access mappings and zones, each of which relate to the
URLs with which a web application is accessed. The tangled
relationship between these components is not seamless to manage. Vague
terminology and documentation make it easy for even a seasoned
SharePoint veteran to make configuration mistakes that prevent access
to a website. I’ve worked hard in this chapter to clarify concepts and
procedures that are quite confusing for many SharePoint
administrators, and I’ve centered the discussion of these concepts and
procedures around the real-world scenarios you will face as you manage
SharePoint web applications in your enterprise.